This invention relates generally to room air conditioners and, more particularly, to motor mount apparatus which facilitates the selective adjustment of the length thereof to accommodate various motor sizes.
Room air conditioners are normally self-contained, complete systems, with both outdoor and indoor sections contained in a single chassis, and with both the outdoor and indoor sections containing a coil and a fan. It is common in these systems to use a single motor to simultaneously provide motor power to both the outdoor and the indoor fans, with connection being made to respective ends of the motor shaft. The motor is thus commonly mounted in the outdoor section, adjacent the partition dividing the indoor and outdoor sections, with one end of the motor shaft passing through the partition and into the indoor fan section, and the other end thereof having the outdoor fan mounted thereon.
One method of mounting the motor within the outdoor section has been that of mounting directly to the outdoor side of the partition. While this approach requires a relatively small amount of materials and occupies very little space, it requires that the partition be fabricated from relatively heavy material so that it is strong enough to support the motor.
Another motor mount method employed is that of supporting the motor from the base pan. With this approach, the mounting structure provides vertical support at each axial end of the motor, with the mount structure comprising two or more sections which are attached by fasteners directly to the base pan.
It is important to recognize that for any particular room air conditioner design, there may be a number of models with different capacities and different motor sizes. Further, different motor sizes generally mean different motor lengths. Thus, in accordance with the prior art approach of providing base pan mounted motors, it is necessary to stock and to use different size motor mounts to accommodate these different size motors.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide motor support for a room air conditioner without the need for a high strength partition wall.
Yet, another object of the present invention is the provision in a room air conditioner for a motor mount means which is readily adaptable to various size motors.
Yet another object of the present invention is the provision in a room air conditioner for a motor mounting and support system which is simple in design, easy to install, and effective in use.
These objects and other features and advantages become more readily apparent upon reference to the following description when taken in conjunction with the appended drawings.